Often Irreverent, Mostly Rational Blog for Fans of the Toronto Blue Jays. One Day, We'll Be Perfect.

Friday, December 19, 2008

What's on the menu?

Blue Jay fans will recall the mid-season meltdown where the ever-so-media-savvy A.J. Burnett announced that he would relish (see what I did there?) the chance to pitch in a town where they serve up some baseball for "breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

Ask, and ye shall receive. Welcome to New York, A.J.! It's an acquired taste, but I'm sure you'll get used to your meals prepared by pressure cooker as opposed to the slow roasting method you've become familiar with over the course of the past three seasons. Shouldn't be a problem, should it?

Like the esteemed Tao, I'm trying my best to be indifferent concerning the "A.J.-as-a-Yankee" era. After all, Team Burnett didn't break any rules, were well within their negotiated right to exercise the opt-out clause....and the situation played out pretty much - no, exactly - as we all thought it would, didn't it? So, what gives?

"Whether you love them or hate them, everybody wants to be a Yankee."Terrific. Thanks for the insight, A.J.

But wait - there's more. Remember the alleged conversation with (future Blue Jay) Carl Pavano regarding life as a Yankee? Yeah....that didn't exactly happen during an offseason career soul-searching session. It happened in September, during the Jays last trip to Yankee Stadium:

Down the stretch, Burnett even received a thumbs-up review of New York from a surprising source -- Carl Pavano, the much-maligned Yankees right-hander and a former Marlins teammate.

Standing down the third-base line during the Blue Jays' September visit, Burnett and Pavano dodged batting-practice drives and spoke honestly about what life is like pitching for the Yankees. Pavano's positive review surprised even Burnett.

"He said it's great," Burnett said. "He recommended that I come here and believed that I need to come here to really blossom and start something special. The first thing he told me is that he didn't do it right from the beginning and got off on the wrong foot in New York. But it's a great place to play and a great place to live."

Well, I'm so glad to hear that your commitment to the Jays was unwavering throughout the season, Allan James. Really good to know that you "honestly had no idea" what you were going to do with the opt-out.

So, about that breakfast, lunch, and dinner.....I hope you enjoy them, A.J. Try not to choke on it.

"Roy pounded it in my head that I don't have to throw 98 every day," Burnett said. "I don't have to go full-tilt, that I can win ballgames and be successful pitching at 94, 95 and 96. I threw a handful of two-seamers in '07, and that was probably half of my arsenal last year."

Everyone seems to hate the Yankees but think about this way. If the Jays had unlimited money to spend like the Yankees would you be pissed if the Jays were signing big free agents every year? Didn't think so.

For something you all knew would happen you sure seem bitter. It's over with. He's gone. Even with AJ, the Jays didn't really have a shot at making it to the playoffs.

I am and will always be a Jays fan at heart but sometimes you just have to be realistic. These days, what gets me through the day is just watching good quality baseball. I will continue to wait until the day the Jays put it together for 162 games and make it to the playoffs and make a run at the World Series again.

Until that day comes, I'm going to sit back and just enjoy the game. Maybe some of you folks might want to try that. Bitching is fun but it gets old.